<title>Contribution of EOS Terra to Earth science</title>

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NASA's first Earth Observing System (EOS) satellite, Terra (formerly known as EOS AM-1), is scheduled for launch in the fall of 1999. This launch will begin a comprehensive monitoring program of solar radiation, the atmosphere, the oceans, and the Earth's continents from a single space-based platform. Specific scientific objectives of Terra include providing the first state distribution of the main Earth- atmosphere coupled parameters; improving our ability to detect human impacts on climate and predicting climate change; providing observations for improving forecasts of the timing and geographical extent of transient climatic anomalies; improving seasonal and interannual predictions; developing technologies for disaster prediction, characterization, and risk reduction from wild-fires, volcanoes, floods, and droughts; and starting long-term monitoring of the change in global climate and environmental change. These objectives are supported by data from five scientific instruments: the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Radiometer (ASTER), the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), the Multi- angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument. The raw instrument data will be archived and distributed to the scientific community after capture on the ground and processing to generate scientific data products. The nature of these science data products and their relevance to Earth science will be discussed along with Terra's current status. Terra is managed by Goddard Space Flight Center.